Yes, CS5 is out! It looks like a phenomenal release, and we have full coverage – including new products, pricing, configurations, system reqs, videos, “what’s new” feature lists, and more:

• Creative Suite 5 Product Overview  
• CS5 Full Product Configuration Matrix
• CS5 Complete System Requirements
• CS5 Pricing for Commercial and Education
• What’s New in Photoshop CS5  
• What’s New in Dreamweaver CS5  
• What’s New in Illustrator CS5  
• What’s New in InDesign CS5  
• What’s New in Flash Pro CS5  
• All About New Flash Catalyst CS5  
• What’s New in Contribute CS5
• What’s New in Premiere Pro CS5  
• What’s New in After Effects CS5  

ALL CS5 products are immediately available for purchase and instant download, with free shipping on all Adobe orders over €500/£350 in Europe and the U.K. (no coupon or promo code is required)…

On Adobe’s site: If you’re considering upgrading from your current software, here’s a helpful upgrade guide. Also new is an excellent FAQ covering purchasing policies and key product changes… The online documentation for all CS5 products also just went up.

Lastly and importantly, the CS5 free trial downloads and Student and Teacher Editions
(up to 80% off) are also now available!

[UPDATE (May 13th) – Adobe CS5 is now shipping and downloadable in 16 languages: English, French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Czech, Polish, Russian, and Korean.]

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Note there is a single trial download for Photoshop – it’s Photoshop CS5 Extended, which includes the Standard version. You decide which you wish to activate at the time of purchase.* The same thing goes for CS5 Design Premium and Design Standard – you get the bigger one and choose later. Also, the trials for the suites do not bundle Acrobat 9 Pro – so it must be downloaded separately.

If you’re upgrading to CS5, you can install a trial and then buy an upgrade to convert your trial into a purchased version. What’s more, a single CS5 purchase may entitle you to install and activate the software on two systems with certain restrictions. No serial number is needed to download or run the trials. For more information on these and other questions, refer to the full CS5 Trial FAQ.

See also: The complete CS5 Product Matrix, CS5 Price Sheet & CS5 System Requirements.

* Note that for Adobe’s Education (Student and Teacher) Editions, there is only one version of Photoshop offered or available – the top-of-the-line Photoshop CS5 Extended. The good news is you’re getting 80% off the regular price!

[UPDATE (May 25th) – If you prefer you can use the direct download links for CS5. If you need the free trials for earlier Adobe releases like CS4 and CS3, they're available for download here.]

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Creative Suite 5 contains hundreds of new or enhanced features and func­tions across the 15 point products that comprise it. So the easiest way to look at it is by major product… For example, Photoshop CS5 Extended con­tains 18 new features that CS4 didn’t have, plus a further 14 more that have been enhanced. The numbers are similar for other products and even greater over CS3 of course – although generally speaking CS5 has significantly more improvements and innovation compared to CS4 than CS4 had over CS3.

CS4 was certainly a capable release (we used it here every day), but some folks have com­mented that CS5 is really the release they wanted when CS4 came out and that CS5 is a game-changer over both previous versions… On that account, we haven’t seen a bad review of CS5 yet.

So for the breakout by individual product, here are the CS5 vs. CS4 vs. CS3 comparisons:

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We’ve covered AdobeTV before, but it just keeps getting bigger and better… They’ve just issued a large series of free new video tutorials for every CS5 point product. You can learn the basics with Getting Started overviews and New Features re­views by product experts, over 17 hours in all. And if you want to get started today, you can go ahead and down­load a 30-day free trial for any CS5 product and begin getting trained…

Here’s how it breaks out:

The extensive how-to series of tips, tricks, and techniques was produced by the well-regarded Lynda.com in partnership with Adobe.

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The Adobe Student and Teacher Editions look like a great deal. They offer big discounts, as much as 80% off normal prices. They’re available for most of Adobe’s product line, including Creative Suite 5, Lightroom 3, Acrobat 9, and Elements 8. They can be purchased by anyone who qualifies – primary and secondary school students, college or university students, faculty, teachers, and administrators. Even part-time students or teachers can be eligible, and there is no age limitation. They’re available pretty much worldwide in many languages on both Windows and Mac, and you don’t need any kind of coupon or promotion code to get the deep discounts.

So what’s the catch? Is the Academic software different or limited somehow? Is there any sort of time restriction, time limit, or time out – do Adobe Student Editions expire? Or are they unusable for commercial purposes?

The answer to all of these questions is fortunately no: all Education products are identical in features and functionality in every respect to the current standard versions – the only differ­ences are the prices and some of the licensing terms… The prices, as mentioned, are a real bargain – for example, instead of US$999 for Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended, you pay only $199; instead of $1,799 for CS5 Design Premium (an eight-product suite including Photoshop Extended), you get it for $449. The Student and Teacher Editions can be utilized for personal as well as commercial use. And after graduation or completion of coursework, you can continue to use the software.

But it’s true there are some limitations as compared to the regular editions… Happily they are all fairly minor:

• Each eligible person may purchase only one copy per product title.
• Student and Teacher Edition software may be used on your own private computer only.
• The software is not transferrable, and may not be resold or given to others.
• You validate eligibility after placing your order to receive your unique serial number key.
• Student editions cannot be upgraded to other, future education editions – but the student price is often lower than the normal upgrade price anyway… However, if you no longer qualify to purchase another Student Edition when the future CS6 or CS7 comes out (e.g., after graduation), you can still upgrade to the commercial version at its discounted upgrade price at that time – which is another substantial savings.

So why take your chances on the malware in a pirated or bootleg version of CS5 when you can get the real deal – legitimate, supported, and safe – for up to 80% off, direct via instant download from Adobe?

Here’s a great FAQ that answers all of these questions in more detail, plus others you may have.

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Productivity

CS5 brings quantifiable efficiency to users (see just-released benchmarks) through its optimi­zation for the latest hardware and operating systems and its focus on reducing common prod­uction tasks from days to hours and from hours to a few mouse clicks. For example, CS5 users can work up to 10X faster with large Photoshop images, get jaw-dropping video-editing speed, and perform numerous work­flow-specific production tasks in a fraction of the time.

Differentiation

CS5 introduces rich new creativity features for print, web, interactive, mobile, and video professionals to produce compelling content and stories that make brands stand out in a crowded marketplace. For example, companies can incorporate cutting-edge 3D objects and motion graphics into their creative thanks to new Repoussé technology in Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended.

Reach

CS5 helps you capitalize on the pervasiveness of the Flash platform and the latest digital publishing trends to better reach, retain, and deliver value to customers wherever they are. For example, CS5 enables you to prepare content for the latest mobile devices such as the Apple iPad, Google Android, RIM Blackberry, Amazon Kindle, Sony eBook Reader, and Barnes & Noble nook.

Optimization

CS5 introduces integration with Omniture web analytics for closely tracking ROI and fine-tun­ing the spend in an enterprise digital strategy. Current Omniture customer can adopt CS5 to streamline and control costs in A/B testing and allow designers and developers to instrument Flash content directly within their creative workflows without manual tagging. And long-term CS users can add Omniture analytics to an effective digital strategy (requires separate investment in Omniture tools as well as in CS5).

Innovative Industry Leadership

Only Adobe CS5 offers comprehensive, industry-leading tools for print, web, interactive, mo­bile, video, and application development – all of the touchpoints in an effective digital strategy. The tight integration among these tools enables teams to share assets and collaborate more effectively across disciplines. Adobe CS5 continues Adobe’s long history of innovative solutions that address pressing business needs.

For over a dozen more reasons to upgrade, see this page.

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 ◊ Photoshop CS5 delivers exceptional power and creative control with the next generation of advanced tools for outstanding image manipulation and superior compositing. It redefines image editing with a strong focus on photography, including breakthrough selection capabi­lities, content-aware fill options, state-of-the-art processing of raw images, advanced creation of High Dynamic Range (HDR) imagery, automated lens corrections, extraordinary new painting effects, and a sweeping range of workflow and performance enhancements that boost productivity.

 ◊ Photoshop CS5 Extended takes it even further, as a superset of tools and features made for professionals who want to push the boundaries of digital imaging. It delivers all the editing, compositing, and painting capabilities of Photoshop CS5 plus powerful new features for creat­ing stunning 3D artwork from selections, graphics, and type with direct control over lighting, materials, and meshes.

And here’s what the reviewers have to say about it:

“When was the last time software changed the way you think and see? Photoshop CS5 will.”
  — John Paul Caponigro, photographer

“Each new version of Photoshop has included many exciting enhancements, but Photoshop CS5 is the most amazing technological jump I’ve seen since I started using the software.”
  — Ira Block, Ira Block Photography

“The Content-Aware Fill feature in Photoshop CS5 got a wow from me when I first used it. It is very good at replacing areas where you would otherwise need to use more strokes and time to clone or heal out a distracting element in a photograph.”
  — Dianne Taylor-Misztela, TM Photo

“The new Puppet Warp feature in Photoshop CS5 will be a great tool for making adjustments that so many times are needed to make images look more realistic than reality – like small changes in the position of arms and legs. This tool has a great potential within all compositing work and is a great complement to the Liquify and Transform tools.”
  — Jann Lipka, photographer

“The Edge Detection controls in Photoshop CS5 are at least twice as fast as the old tricks we used to use to remove an object from one background and place it on another. We can quickly make selections and then move on to the more creative work that our clients expect. This is Photoshop at its best!”
  — Francisco Camberos, The Visionaire Group

“Content Aware Fill in Photoshop CS5 will save you hours, if not days, of retouching. It might even change the way you think about composing your images.”
  — John Paul Caponigro, photographer

“Adobe has always had the best 32-bit merging capabilities with the ability to merge raw files. With HDR Pro in Photoshop CS5, Adobe knocks it out of the park with really smart, anti-­ghost­ing and auto-­alignment technology.”
  — Colin Smith, founder, PhotoshopCAFE

“Seeing the new capabilities of Photoshop CS5 software had me immediately thinking about what I can do with them. New features like Puppet Warp and Content-Aware Fill make things that are difficult for me easy, and things that were impossible possible!”
  — Stephen Marc, photographer

“The new Mixer Brush in Photoshop CS5 is a welcome advancement in the simulation of painterly brushwork. Expressive digital natural-media tools are quickly becoming an adjunct to photographic imagery, enabling a new visual vocabulary. Combined with the expert control over photographic imagery in Photoshop, the effect is like dipping your paintbrush into a photograph.”
  — John Derry, photographer

“The Bristle Tips feature in Photoshop CS5 and the Bristle Brush tool in Illustrator CS5 will make an immediate impact on the design world. Without a doubt, the amazing new brush stroke effects they create will be a staple in both student portfolios and the advertising industry.”
  — Kevin McMahon, graphic design and video production teacher

“Adobe Repoussé in Photoshop CS5 Extended will make my life so much easier, especially when I need to mix 3D elements with my 2D workflow. I can create 3D objects and 3D text inside Photoshop CS5 Extended using Adobe Repoussé instead of having to import artwork from a 3D application or emulate the effect using perspectives and vanishing points. This will save me so much time and help me add unique 3D elements to my work.”
  — Fabio Sasso, Zee Design

“Adobe clearly knows where the future is going in terms of 3D integration into a graphic designer’s workflow. With Adobe Repoussé in Photoshop CS5 Extended, graphic designers who make their money creating 2D logos can extend their capabilities to include transforming logo art into 3D objects for web and print, making them more valuable to their clients.”
  — Stephen Burns, Chromeallusion.com

“Whenever I’m photographing interiors, I’m always backed into a corner wishing I had another ten feet to work with. The new Lens Correction features in Photoshop CS5 provide me that extra perspective and allow me to present an image the way I saw it, not just the way the camera captured it.”
  — LaNola Stone, photographer

“Sending high resolution images over e-mail is always challenging. Adobe CS Review in Photoshop CS5 is incredibly helpful because I can look at images with my clients in real time – even in the middle of a shoot – so my clients get the shots they want every time.”
  — Theresa Raffetto, photographer

“The benefits of the customer-inspired productivity enhancements in Photoshop CS5 are exponential. Saving time adds up like compounding interest, and each time-saver yields a more efficient workflow, which yields more productivity, which ultimately yields better imagery and better business.”
  — Jerome Ferraro, photographer

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What other questions do you have about CS5? Just ask in the comments below and we’ll see if we can get them answered quickly for you.

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While HTML5 and CSS3 won’t be finalized for some time, this extension provides initial support in Dreamweaver CS5 for a set of currently-implemented functions, helping you easily create HTML5 pages and CSS3 styles. It introduces great features like multiscreen preview (which lets you see what your web page will look like on phones, tablets, and desktop computers simultaneously within Dreamweaver), HTML5 and CSS3 code hinting, video and audio tag support in Live View, and even a few HTML5-compliant starter layouts to get you up and running with HTML5 layouts quickly.

If you’ve been tuned into the technology news lately, you’ll know these sorts of improvements mark a great advance for Dreamweaver users working in this fast-changing world of smart­phones and other portable devices. Although their specifications are still being finalized, HTML5 and CSS3 can be used with any browser that currently supports them. The most recent ver­sions of the leading browsers (Safari, Firefox, Opera, Internet Explorer, Chrome) support at least some (a few support many) HTML5 and CSS3 features.

Here’s a complete list of available resources for these new capabilities, available immediately:

• Download: Adobe Dreamweaver CS5 HTML5 Pack
• Article: Using the HTML5 Pack for Dreamweaver CS5
• Discussion Forum: The Dreamweaver CS5 HTML5 Pack
• Demo Video:

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But does the real feature live up to its advance billing?

While it’s not perfect and doesn’t always do what you hope or imagine (after all, it’s still just a computer), generally in practice it still does amazingly well – and often unbelievably so. And we have a handful of new videos here to illustrate, thanks to Terry White and Russell Brown. The tips and techniques shared below will help you get the most out of this capability.

The first video covers the best new features in Photoshop CS5 generally, including three great examples of Content-Aware Fill in action… The second, to the right, introduces the concept of Content-Aware Rotation – magically filling in the missing parts to the background of a rotated image with Content-Aware Fill. The third one develops the technique of Wire Removal with Content-Aware Healing – easily removing unwanted lines and wires from your images. And the last video shows how to create Content-Aware Patterns – discovering creative ways to accurately control, and create, patterns with Content-Aware Fill.

For full-screen viewing, click the expand icon and then 480p after pressing play on each thumbnail:

See reviews of Content-Aware Fill and other aspects of Photoshop CS5… Or for more great videos on new features in Creative Suite 5, check out www.cs5.tv

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Up until now, iPhone/iPad apps built with a new technology in Adobe CS5 known as the Packager for iPhone were not accepted in Apple’s App Store – meaning existing multi­platform Flash applications could technically be recompiled run as native iOS apps, but could not easily be made available to the broader public. But this is all changed now – and suggests that a wealth of new apps will be coming soon to Apple’s smartphones, benefiting both users and developers alike…

More from Apple:

We are continually trying to make the App Store even better. We have listened to our developers and taken much of their feedback to heart. Based on their input, today we are making some important changes to our iOS Developer Program license in sections 3.3.1, 3.3.2 and 3.3.9 to relax some restrictions we put in place earlier this year.

In particular, we are relaxing all restrictions on the development tools used to create iOS apps, as long as the resulting apps do not download any code. This should give developers the flexibility they want, while preserving the security we need.

Now this applies solely to self-contained mobile apps and games, and not to the Adobe Flash Player – so it won’t suddenly make dynamic Flash web content work within the iPhone and iPad browsers, but it’s nonetheless a major policy shift by Apple and huge step towards healing the rift betweeen these two behemoths that has so often left developers and end-users caught in the middle.

Apple also for the first time is publishing their official App Store Review Guidelines to help developers better understand how the company reviews (and accepts or rejects) submitted apps. So this will help increase transparency, which has also been an point of controversy – and makes for good news all around.

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Adobe collaborated with a community of educators across the US and UK to develop the appropriate depth and breadth of each project. Additionally, Adobe co-developed the classes with the International Society of Technology Education (ISTE) to create standards-aligned, career-track, course materials that focus on the major fields below. They are recommended for use when preparing for Adobe certification (Adobe Certified Associate, or ACA).

The three extensive course offerings are:

1. Visual Design: Foundations of Design and Print Production
2. Digital Design: Foundations of Web Design
3. Digital Video: Foundations of Video Design and Production

Visual Design develops key digital skills such as design, communication, project management, and graphic and print technology. Students use Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended to develop images, InDesign CS5 to design and build layouts and print materials, and Illustrator CS5 to create vector-based graphics and illustrations to add interest. They use Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro to review and improve content, produce print-ready materials, and develop a portfolio. The curriculum can be used in photography or graphic design education, or in broader career and technical education.

Digital Design develops important digital skills such as web design and production, project management, and web technology. Students use Adobe Photoshop CS5, Illustrator CS5, and Fireworks CS5 to develop static and interactive graphics. They use Adobe Dreamweaver CS5 to design and build websites, and Flash Professional CS5 to apply design solutions requiring rich media and interactivity. This curriculum can be used in web design education or in more general career and technical education.

The Digital Video curriculum develops knowledge in storytelling, capturing and editing video and audio, and finalizing content for DVD or web through emphasis on design, production, project management, and video technology. Students use Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 to edit video, and Soundbooth CS5 to create and edit audio. They use Adobe After Effects CS5 to enhance videos and add motion effects, and Encore CS5 to produce content for a DVD. Use this curriculum in career and technical education courses — or any other course that involves the use of video.

Learn more about the free downloadable curriculums here. There are CS4 versions of the classes still available as well.

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The last time we saw the “#1 Photoshop Fan,” he was camped out all night waiting for the release of Photoshop CS5… Now he’s back (in the funny video below) and helping launch a new contest to find Adobe’s “Next Photoshop Evangelist” – and if it’s you, you’ll win a new copy of Creative Suite 5 plus a paid trip to Photoshop World in Florida next March, including the chance to demo your work at the conference, roundtrip coach airfare, lodging, and meals.

To enter: “Upload a two-minute Photoshop video tutorial demonstrating why you should be the Next Photoshop Evangelist. Your video must use Photoshop CS5, a new Photoshop CS5 feature, and, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Photoshop, incorporate the concept of ‘20′ some­where in the final image. Have fun!”

If you need Photoshop CS5 to use for the contest, you can easily download the fully-working free trial for 30 days. For choosing a new feature to use, see the list of new CS5 features for Photoshop (and all other products).

The submission deadline is August 24th and then twelve finalists will be chosen by Adobe, with the grand prize winner being selected by the Photoshop community on Facebook. All twelve finalists will be showcased by Adobe on several venues. So show off your Photoshop skills and sharing abilities and you could be on your way to Florida next winter with a new CS5 suite on your laptop and some fame to your name.

And now, here’s that entertaining video with the otherwise nameless, #1 Photoshop Fan:

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With that in mind, there are three new performance studies out for Adobe CS5 products from the independent technology research firm, Pfeiffer Consulting. The time savings are impressive – on average, CS5 is two to three times faster than CS4 for 21 features and 130 performance benchmarks tested in Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects, and Premiere Pro.

The full reports with results:

1. Adobe Creative Suite 5: How Key Design Applications Increase Your Productivity
2. Adobe Photoshop CS5: 64-bit Performance and Efficiency Measures
3. Adobe CS5 Production Premium: New Efficiencies for Today’s Production Realities

Here are some of the major findings:

• The productivity of Photoshop CS5 with benchmarked operations such as Content-Aware Fill is significantly boosted over techniques available in previous releases, almost five times faster. Some other features like straightening images are nearly 4x as fast.
• InDesign CS5 offers a new Selection tool that makes object modification significantly faster than with previous releases. Working with multi-column text or multiple page sizes is much easier and faster than in the past. Grid-enabled tools speed the creation of multi-element designs.
• Productivity features introduced with Illustrator CS5 include variable-width strokes, enhanced arrow-creation options, faster ways of joining paths, among others, which provide significant measurable productivity gains.
• Cross-platform native 64-bit support of several key CS5 applications allows multiple pro­grams running in parallel to share available memory in a highly efficient way, and provides creative professionals with new ways of harnessing the power of modern computing hardware and system software.
• Photoshop CS5 running in a 64-bit environment was up to 15 times faster compared with CS4 running on a 32-bit system in some of the benchmarks for this project.
• Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 introduces the Mercury Playback Engine, a set of technologies that can significantly increase productivity in high-definition production workflows.
• Processing of H.264 video from popular DSLR cameras was over five times faster with Premiere Pro CS5 than with CS4.
• 64-bit support allows After Effects CS5 to work with extended memory configurations, and significantly increases the number of frames of a composition (by up to 20x) that can be previewed from memory.
• After Effect’s new Roto Brush automates and redefines a particularly time-consuming task of the modern post-production workflow – clocking up to 11 times faster than traditional rotoscoping techniques, while producing a cleaner result.
• The hardware acceleration, parallel processing and other performance improvements introduced in Adobe CS5 Production Premium provide a very significant and in some cases spectacular increase in performance and efficiency.

Premiere Pro CS5 and After Effects CS5 are 64-bit only applications. Photoshop CS5 comes in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. If you need 32-bit versions of Adobe After Effects or Premiere Pro, see this page.

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If you missed your calling as a 19th-century post-Impressionist painter, here’s your second chance… Adobe recently released the fast and free Pixel Bender Plug-in for Photo­shop CS5, which adds new image processing algorithms (filters or effects) in a hardware-independent manner. There are dozens of free filters available, including one for an oil paint effect. Pixel Bender also runs cross-platform in After Effects and Flash, so all filters and their behaviors are portable among various Adobe products.

Installation of the Pixel Bender Plug-in is easy, provided you already have Photoshop CS5 installed. If you don’t yet have Photoshop CS5, you can just download the full 30-day free trial. The Pixel Bender Gallery is initially populated with 13 filters that come with with the plugin. The one we’ll focus on today is the OilPaint filter, with two video tutorials below demonstrating detailed examples of its use. The tips and techniques shared will help you use the tools to turn an ordinary photo into something special – “makes a great gift!”

Adobe Pixel Bender Plug-in Video Tutorials

These how-to’s come courtesy of Adobe Photoshop guru Russell Brown – the first one is a two-part playlist showing how the swirling church image above was created, and the second video walks through more advanced painting methods with the Pixel Bender tools:

If you want to download more filters, visit the Pixel Bender Exchange; and if you’d like to write your own, see the toolkit and other resources at the Pixel Bender Technology Center.

UPDATE (August 28th) – Here’s another nice and new one, from Gavin Hoey in just two minutes.

Recent Photoshop CS5 Video Tutorials

• Advanced Magic with Photoshop CS5’s Content-Aware Fill
• Advanced Puppet Warping with Photoshop CS5
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The presentations are 90-minute live “deep dives” with Adobe product experts where you can get firsthand detailed information on the new features of these releases, see demonstrations, and get direct answers to your questions. All sessions are from 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM ET on upcoming Tuesdays, and will be presented in English:

Deep Dive: Adobe Illustrator CS5
Tuesday, July 13, 11:30am – 1:00pm US/Eastern
Complimentary Registration

Deep Dive: Adobe InDesign CS5
Tuesday, July 27, 11:30am – 1:00pm US/Eastern
Complimentary Registration

Deep Dive: Adobe Flash Professional CS5
Tuesday, August 10, 11:30am – 1:00pm US/Eastern
Complimentary Registration

Deep Dive: Adobe Premiere Pro CS5
Tuesday, August 24, 11:30am – 1:00pm US/Eastern
Complimentary Registration

The only requirements to participate are a web browser with an Internet connection and Adobe Flash Player.

If you’re also interested in Photoshop or Lightroom, this additional free webinar is a bonus:

  Professional Photographer Workflow — Adobe Photoshop CS5 and Adobe Lightroom
  Thursday, July 15, 2010, 1:00pm – 2:00pm US/Eastern — Watch On-Demand

Adobe Digital Imaging Evangelist Julieanne Kost will demonstrate how you can leverage the tight integration between Adobe Photoshop CS5 and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom software to create a completely fluid workflow to manage and edit images. Learn how to easily select multiple photos in Lightroom and automatically open them in Photoshop CS5 to merge them into a panorama, an HDR image, or a multilayered Photoshop document. Discover the ease of “Edit in” the power of presets for exporting files as well as how to hand off images from Lightroom to Photoshop CS5 to automat­ically run actions for speed and efficiency.

[Photo credit: javiy]

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OK, so your old computer is running out of gas, you’re upgrading or changing systems, adding a new machine, or switching from a PC to a Mac, or vice versa — and you want to move over your purchased Adobe CS5 (or CS4 or CS3 or other) software — what do you do, and how do you do it?

As we’ve covered previously here, you are generally allowed to install and activate most Adobe software on up to two computers, with the restriction that the software can not used on both systems at the same time. So right off the bat, you might be good to go with installing the software on a second computer, although you may wish to double-check the licensing agreement for your product to be sure.

Adobe uses software activation to control how many simultaneous computers can install or run CS5 at once. So if you’re already at your limit of two computers and want to transfer your license over to a new or different system, then you first need to deactivate the software from the old computer. In the program, click Help > Deactivate, and then follow the instructions in the wizard to deactivate the software. If you have installed a suite product, you will be deact­ivating the entire suite by deactivating any one of the point products included in that suite.

If you’re uninstalling Adobe software from a computer, deactivate it first to ensure its license is freed up. If you deactivate but don’t uninstall, the next time you run Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, InDesign, Acrobat, or any of the other CS5 applications on that computer, you’ll be asked for a serial number or to start a 30-day free trial period.

If you purchased the software but lost the serial number or no longer have it readily available, you can retrieve it from the computer itself using a free utility like Belarc Advisor – which will recover and tell you the activation keys for all programs on your system. If you lost or can’t find the original installation file or discs, you can download and install a free trial of your application from Adobe servers onto your new computer.

Once deactivation is complete, you are free to go ahead and enter your serial number key to activate a copy of the software installed elsewhere, or use it to reactivate the same applica­tion on that PC after reinstalling (for example, if you are upgrading operating systems from XP or Vista to Windows 7). And you should be all set.

If you run into any problems with the deactivation/reactivation process, you’ll have a 30-day window during which the software will work in trial mode to give you enough time to contact Adobe Support and get things resolved.

How to Switch Platforms from PC to Mac

Now how about if you’re also changing platforms, like from Windows to Mac, or vice versa – and want to take your Creative Suite 5 license with you, and/or upgrade from CS2, CS3, or CS4 to CS5 while making the switch? After completing the deactivation process above it gets a little more complicated, because most Adobe software is licensed for a single platform only. But you can do what’s called a “crossgrade” from one to the other, which is no charge (except for shipping costs) and can be submitted online through Adobe Customer Service.

All product configurations (including Student and Teacher Editions) are eligible for exchange.

There are a few provisos. One is you need to have a registered serial number to qualify (but that just takes a few minutes if you haven’t already). You must also be prepared to sign and return a Letter of Software Destruction for the programs on the old platform. But perhaps the most important is you can’t crossgrade from an older version to the same previous version – you can only move to the current version (CS5), paying any applicable upgrade costs.

So if you need to do both an upgrade and a platform swap, the fastest and easiest way is to first buy the upgrade online and then submit the crossgrade online. Then if you chose to get the new product shipped to you rather than via instant download, you can simply download and run the 30-day free trial while you’re waiting for the package to arrive – and then later just convert the trial into a permanent full version with the serial key from the product box.

How to Change from One Language to Another

Note that this same procedure will also work for requesting a change from one language set to another for a given Adobe/CS5 application… Just follow the crossgrade procedure above but choose a new and different language instead of a different platform.

One notable exception is Adobe Lightroom 3 which is sold as multiplatform and multilanguage software so would not require a crossgrade.

Hopefully that should do it! Please let us know if this article helped you out, or any questions you may have in the comments below.

If you’d like to move away from shuffling serial numbers altogether, consider an Adobe CS5 volume license to simplify management instead of single-user copies… For a lower cost, you can get a site license with a single serial number for your entire team.

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Adobe announced their second quarter financial results yesterday and during the accompany­ing conference call, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen spoke about their Flash technology and how it’s doing given the recent contro­versy with Apple. The call transcript quotes Narayen as saying:

Enabling our customers to deliver engaging experiences across multiple devices remains a focus of the company. Today we announced availability of Flash Player 10.1 for mobile devices, which delivers on the promise of enabling access to the full web across desktops and devices. We expect millions of devices to ship with 10.1 in the second half of 2010.

Flash is strategic for Adobe because it delivers great value to our customers. Approxi­mately 3.5 million Flash designers and developers are working with Flash-based solutions today, and their ranks grew by 59 percent in 2009. The new release of Flash Player creates a whole new sandbox for these millions of designers and developers to create next-generation content, advertising, games, applications and experiences.

We’ve already seen that those who have been using the new Flash Player on Android phones love it; and as devices start to ship with Flash during the rest of the year, those that don’t have Flash on their smartphones will wish they did.

During the subsequent Q&A session with analysts, the question came in, “are you seeing any impact on the Creative Suite business relative to the Flash and HTML5 debate?” Last month we reported here there would be “no impact,” and yesterday the CEO confirmed:

No, we really have not seen any impact on our Flash authoring business. What we are finding frankly is that we’re seeing more and more fragmented workflows as people have to author to different standards. And the demand actually on our authoring side, to be able to deal with all these disparate workflows is actually causing more attention being paid to the Creative Suite 5 features.

In fact, for CS5 products containing Flash authoring and output, we have a 22% increase in revenue over CS4 to date. And I think you’ll see probably another ten tablet-style devices that come out with different resolutions between now and holiday season, which will increase the demand for that capability within our products.

And we’ve said this multiple times, both Flash and HTML are really going to be the solution for the web. Both of them have benefits. And Adobe has had a long history of supporting both existing formats; and when the formats don’t exist, of inventing appropriate technology to enable people to deliver the kind of experience they want.

But if you think about sporting events that are happening or when you think about television, all of that’s also being streamed on the internet and frankly all of that’s in Flash. So for those who have been watching the soccer or golf, virtually all of that content is in Flash.

The press reviews of the new Flash Player 10.1 on mobile devices have been good and the demos impressive, and it’s the #1 free download on Android. At today’s Droid X launch in New York (see video interview below with Adobe, Google, Verizon, and Motorola), Google’s mobile VP Andy Rubin shared that 160,000 Android phones are now activated each day, up from a prior estimate of 100,000/day just last month. As more and more Android devices come to market, along with planned support for Flash Player on RIM’s Blackberry devices, Nokia’s Symbian and MeeGo devices, Palm’s WebOS devices, and future versions of Windows Phone, Flash’s future looks bright.

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• Jump in with Free Adobe CS5 Deep Dive Product Sessions

If you’re weighing whether to upgrade to Photoshop CS5, or just want to see the best of the new features, Adobe’s got a free new seminar series for you… Digital Imaging Evangelist Julieanne Kost just gave a one-hour online session (now available on-demand) highlighting at least 10 good reasons to become a Photoshop CS5 believer:

Top Ten Reasons to Upgrade to Photoshop CS5 — Watch now

Photoshop CS5 is packed with features that save time, and helps you create images with the desired impact. Easily make complex selections. Remove any image element and see the space fill in almost magically. Paint realistically. Create stunning HDR images, remove noise, add grain, and create vignettes with state-of-the-art photo­graphy tools. Seeing is believing.

This is the second in the What’s New in Photoshop CS5 eSeminar Series. The first was given last month by Photoshop Product Manager Bryan O’Neil Hughes of Content-Aware Fill fame, and is also available for on-demand replay:

Adobe Photoshop CS5 for Photographers (1 hour) — Watch now

See how Photoshop CS5 gives photographers a set of breakthrough tools to help you refine your images and get superior results faster than ever before. This seminar highlights key features and the reasons why photographers should consider upgrad­ing to Photoshop CS5.

On top of that, it’s a busy week for Photoshop users. If you’re in the New York City area in the coming days, stop by one of these other free events:

Adobe Photoshop CS5 Summit, Friday, June 25, 4:30–7:30 pm, Hammerstein Ballroom, NYC —
Join Scott Kelby and the NAPP team for the first-ever Photoshop Summit, where you’ll see exactly how to plug the amazing new features of CS5 right into your daily Photoshop work­flow. Plus, you’ll be able to meet one-on-one with Adobe’s own Photoshop and Lightroom product managers and get your questions answered direct from the source. It’s absolutely free with some great giveaways including the products themselves.

Photowalk with Adobe Product Managers, Saturday, June 26, 10am-2pm, Midtown, NYC —
Join Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop product managers Tom Hogarty and Bryan O’Neil Hughes for an exclusive photo walk through New York City. All levels welcome, and includes a free lunch and software tips and demos. Space is limited to 50 participants, so please RSVP.

Adobe Day at Foto Care, Monday & Tuesday, June 28 & 29, 10am & 2pm, Foto Care, NYC —
Welcome Adobe specialists Bryan O’Neil Hughes and Tom Hogarty as they present Photoshop CS5 and Lightroom 3. In these free workshops you will learn the new features and see how to use the new tools to enhance your workflow, making it easier and faster.

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• Photoshop.com Launches New “Photoshop Express” Online Tools
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Best practices in optimizing web content for Flash Player 10.1
Tuesday, June 22, 9AM–10AM PDT — Watch Free On-Demand

The quickest way to build cross-platform apps with AIR 2
Tuesday, June 22, 1PM–2PM PDT — Watch Free On-Demand

Rich Internet App development with Flash Builder 4 for Flash Player 10.1 and AIR 2
Wednesday, June 23, 9AM–10AM PDT — Watch Free On-Demand

Multi-screen web content development with Flash Pro CS5
Thursday, June 24, 9AM–10AM PDT — Watch Free On-Demand

There’s also been a ton of good Flash-related news in recent weeks… Some of the best:

• A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words: Why Flash is Hard to Replace
• Two Pictures is Worth 2,000 Words: Flash Player 10.1 is #1 Free Download on Android
• Demos: Flash Player Now Does Hardware-Accelerated HD Video on a Range of Devices
• Add Another Screen: Google TV Integrates Flash Player 10.1 on Television Sets
• Shape Future Adobe Development by Giving Your Feedback via New Adobe Labs Ideas
• New Video Codec Coming: Flash Player Will Support On2/Google’s VP8 Video
• Goooooal! Flash Powers Live Streaming of the World Cup on ESPN Online

Related Posts

• Jump in with Free Adobe CS5 Deep Dive Product Sessions
• Apple Extends Olive Branch to Adobe over Flash Apps
• Free Yearlong Adobe CS5 Curriculums for Teachers & Students
• Adobe CEO: “You’ll Want Flash on Your Smartphone”
• Top Ten Reasons to Upgrade to Photoshop CS5